Investing.com - The U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen fell on Wednesday on reports that the Italy government is aiming to cut its budget deficit to 2% of GDP in 2021. The government forecasted a deficit of 2.4% in 2019 and 2.2% in 2020.
The country’s debt-to-GDP ratio currently stands at 131%, and the government is hoping to trim the ratio to 127% by 2021, according to reports.
The Euro gained 0.3% against the dollar following the news.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was trading at 94.98 by 12:30AM ET (04:30 GMT), down 0.2%.
The Japanese yen on the other hand also slid as the USD/JPY pair inched up 0.01% to 113.68.
Earlier this week, concerns over Italian finances provided some support for both the yen and the U.S. dollar after senior Italian lawmaker Claudio Borghi said most of the country’s problems would be resolved if it readopted a national currency.
Elsewhere, the AUD/USD pair traded 0.2% lower after data revealed Australia’s building approvals unexpectedly fell 9.4% in August.
“A lower Aussie dollar is certainly helpful for the Australian economy,” said Paul Bloxham, chief economist for Australia at HSBC Holdings Plc (LON:HSBA), who sees the currency falling from near 72 U.S. cents to 68 cents by the middle of next year. “The sort of loosening we’re expecting from the currency over the next nine months is about equivalent to 25 basis points of loosening on the cash rate.”